Meet the Pediatric Ward nurse in charge Mariama Hemore.

Mariama is a state registered nurse (SRN) and State Enrolled Community Health Nurse (SECHN) with 12 years of experience in her field; she is in charge of the Pediatric ward in Magbenteh Community Hospital.

Inside the pediatric ward, Mariama deals, on daily basis, with cases of severe malaria, pneumonia, typhoid, severe anemia due to malnutrition, and burns cases, among other medical complications.

“Some days on the job are just hard!” Mariama says. Such as the day when a 12-Month-old boy was admitted to MCH with symptoms of convulsions, high fever, and difficulty breathing.  The doctors diagnosed him with severe malaria and community-acquired Pneumonia which is very common in Sierra Leone especially in the Humid/ Rainy season between May and November. Treatment with Antibiotics and hydroxychloroquine were administrated to fight the infections, the toddler body began to respond and he resumed breastfeeding. However, on the Seventh-day, he fell into a coma and remained on life support. While fighting for his life due to pneumonia, Mariama was on high alert monitoring her young patient and communicating effectively with the doctors and parents. To her relief, the toddler regained consciousness.

Mariama adds “A happy ending to each case is what every nurse and doctor wishes for, especially within the pediatric ward. Unfortunately, we are seeing tough times again in Magbenteh Community Hospital, children often arrive in critical conditions, parents can`t afford transportation, medication, or even meals. Cases of malnutrition on the rise and the hospital pharmacy are low on medication.”

Mariama’s greatest challenge since she started working in MCH was to reduce the mortality rate in the pediatric ward. It took constant and collective efforts from the medical team and management to reduce the rate to less than 5% in MCH and maintained it over the last 5 yearsand her hopes are not to fall back due to the current COVID19 crisis.